Man charged in New Year's beach stabbing incident

January 11, 2013

A Fort Myers man was arrested by Sanibel Police on New Year's Day after a second man was found on the beach with a stab wound.

Stephen Daniel Plein, 21, was charged with felony aggravated battery and taken to the Lee County Sheriff's Office where he was booked into Lee County Jail. Plein was released on Jan. 2 after posting a $20,000 bond.

About 1:18 a.m. New Year's Day, Sanibel police investigated a 9-1-1 call about a stabbing on the beach near the Sundial Beach & Tennis Resort on Middle Gulf Drive. Police found the victim, who has not been identified, bleeding from a single stab wound to the abdomen. The victim was treated by EMS personnel and transported to Lee Memorial Hospital.

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Stephen Plein

Plein called police about a half-hour later to turn himself in. According to the incident report, after being read his rights Plein gave officers a statement.

The report says the victim approached Plein and "pushed him." Plein took a pocket knife out of his pants pocket and stabbed the victim once and fled to a friend's home, where he called 9-1-1.

Police did not release the name of the victim as the investigation is ongoing. The victim's medical condition also is not known at this time.